Visiting Christmas Markets

Over the month of November, I’ve been working on a project. The idea is you take a one second video every single day, and then cut them all together. I got the idea from a friend of mine who shared the videos she made while studying abroad in Spain earlier this year.

Doing this has been a lot of fun, and I think the small clips will really help me remember my time abroad. I just wish I could’ve started it sooner!

(Video is under the cut)

The Lutheran Church all lit up!

The last night of November, Marburg has this annual celebration called Marburg B(u)y Night. All over the city, different buildings and churches are lit up, and the Christmas Markets open, with people selling little gifts, food, and of course, Glühwein (aka mulled wine).

I went to the Lutheran Church beneath the castle to see the opening ceremony with some friends who also live in the castle. The mayor of the city gave a short speech, and then the show started. Music boomed from speakers as a light show lit up the church’s walls. It was beautiful. At the end, bright red and blue lights illuminated the trees and the church, and the festivities had officially begun.

We made our way down to the Christmas market in the main square, before heading to the University Church. Both the outside and the inside of the church were lit up with various colored lights. We walked throughout the city, seeing all of the different buildings with lights. I started heading back a little sooner, cutting through the other half of the Christmas market by St. Elizabeth’s Church, because I had a job to do at the castle.

Bringing out a fresh pot of fresh Glühwein!

Because the castle was, of course, also participating in the party! Earlier in the day, all of us with windows facing the front had taped brightly colored translucent paper to our windows, and had left the lights on in our rooms. There was a fire pit set up in the parking lot, and inside, we were selling Glühwein, non-alcoholic Kinderpunsch, and pretzels. I had signed up to do a couple of shifts in the kitchen. It wasn’t too difficult work — we’d heat up more of the punch and wine as needed, put pretzels in the oven to bake, wash the dishes that were returned. There was also the added benefit of being able to drink punch and nab a couple of pretzels for free.

Christmas Markets!

The entrance to the Großseelheim Weihnachtsmarkt!

A small lesson in German culture: Christmas markets are hugely popular. There’s one in Marburg that’s scattered around the city in a couple of locations, and they can be found in cities and towns across the country.

One of my BCA professors, Frau Moersch, told us about one Christmas market in a village named Großseelheim not far from Marburg. Unlike the Marburg Christmas market, which will be open the entire month, this one is only held on the first Saturday of December. They set up the night before and the morning of, and then on Sunday it’s all taken down, because everyone needs to go back to work on Monday.

The one-day Christmas market takes up the entire village, and thousands of people visit it. Frau Moersch was going with a group of her Ph.D students, and invited us along as well. It sounded like fun, so I took the train and bus there to meet with the group.

So many jams! I think I tried 15.

I was the only BCA student who went with the group, but I had a really good time. We went from stall to stall, where people were selling everything from handmade soaps to baby clothes to locally produced cheese. One stand had a table out with about 60 jars of marmalade that you could taste. I think my favorite was the apricot one, but there were a lot of different combinations. They had the basics down, but also some more unusual options, too, like pumpkin, cherry-expresso, and one that looked like neon green jello.

A couple of different bands played music, which Frau Moersch said were generally clubs from different schools in the area. There was also a small zoo, with some sheep and donkeys from nearby farms.

I probably spent four hours there. And I am incredibly grateful to Frau Moersch, not just for inviting me, but also for the wealth of kindness she showed me while we were there. She wasn’t just kind in the way that driving me home is kind (though she did that, too). She was kind in her words and actions in a way that’s hard to describe, but worth no less for it. I appreciated it.

What I’m listening to this week: Flou by Angèle.